By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – For more than two decades, Dr. Hartwell Francis has been dedicated to the preservation of the Cherokee language, and his dedication to the Cherokee people is immense. His smiles and positivity drive his energy in language preservation and learning.
Dr. Francis, an honorary member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, currently works as the New Kituwah Academy education curriculum developer.
Dr. Hartwell Francis, Meshay Long, Aaliyah Swimmer, Elvia Walkingstick, Michelle Long, Madison Long, and Olivia Owle pose with their 2025 Impact Award for Community-Engaged Teaching, Learning & Research presented by the WCU Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning on Monday, April 28, 2025 for their children’s book project in collaboration with WCU professor Tatiana Potts and her printmaking class. (Photo contributed)
In 2021, then-One Feather Reporter Jonah Lossiah, wrote an article when Dr. Francis was given the honorary member honor. “It’s an overwhelming honor to be given the opportunity to work with the language,” Dr. Francis said. “It’s special. I’ve made great friends here, with the speakers especially. The speakers have been very welcoming and shared their language. It’s been an honor to work with them and give them the opportunity to share their language the way they want to share it.”
To show how much he is admired by Cherokee language speakers, Res. No. 603, which designated Dr. Francis as an honorary member, was submitted by the Cherokee Speakers Council.
That legislation speaks to his work with the language, “Dr. Hartwell Francis has been a great friend to all three federally recognized Cherokee tribes by recording meetings and presenting materials for preservation; and Dr. Hartwell Francis has shared all his developmental works with all tribes and any of the Eastern Band of Cherokee programs that have made a request.”
The day he was made an EBCI honorary member, EBCI Beloved Woman Myrtle Driver Johnson commented on Dr. Francis, “I’ve never seen anyone that works as hard as Hartwell does. When he first came to us, I named him White Rabbit. I think that’s stuck with him. He works. I never see him slow down. He just works all the time. And you heard for yourself how well he’s learning to speak the language. A lot of Cherokees could sit back and take notes on how well he’s learning the language. We’re very fortunate to have someone like Dr. Hartwell Francis helping us to preserve the language. And when he makes me mad and I scold him, he just laughs at me.”
Last year, he was part of a group which received the Impact Award for Community-Engaged Teaching, Learning & Research presented by the WCU Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning. A One Feather article on the award, written by my colleague Brooklyn Brown, states, “Hartwell Francis, education curriculum developer for New Kituwah Academy, along with several students from the CLMAP program including Meshay Long, Aaliyah Swimmer, Elvia Walkingstick, Michelle Long, Madison Long, and Olivia Owle, provided key consultation on the project to produce culturally relevant books for Cherokee youth.”
Dr. Francis, who received a Ph.D. in theoretical linguistics from the University of Colorado Boulder, was the founding director of the WCU Cherokee Language Program.
His work with the language has been outstanding, and his work will be felt for generations to come. Dr. Francis is an incredibly hard-working man who loves his work and is dedicated to seeing the Cherokee language grow and grow and grow.
